Update: Cory Coons LA Awards

The Los Angeles Music Awards gala night is fast approaching. And local song-writer/musician Cory Coons has been nominated for Rock Artist of the Year.

The red carpet night is September 17, and Coons will be in LA to take part in the celebration which honours talented artists in a number of musical fields. In 2014, Coons brought home the Producers’ Choice Award for Studio Album of the Year.

“It means a lot to me that I have been nominated again by the production team and founder of the LA Music Awards, Mr. Al Bowman,” Cory Coons said in an earlier interview.

However, judges also rely on the opinion of listeners to decide who should be honoured at these awards. Music lovers, and supporters of Cory Coons (Share a Little Time and his new single Seven Year Itch are currently being aired by a number of media outlets) can help his nomination by voting on line for him.

The voting site is http://www.25lama.com/

“A win in my category would be fantastic,” Cory said in a July interview. “I’m just happy to be going to LA to relive the experience.”

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Folks heading to the Playhouse for the final show of the 2011 summer season are in for a delightfully, ‘delicious’ evening out as the Playhouse dishes up, The Kitchen Witches by Caroline Smith which opened Thursday night, September 8 and runs through October 2.

The Kitchen Witches places the audience at a live television ‘cooking’ show and drags everyone kicking and laughing, mostly laughing, into the venue.

Directed by Canadian theatre veteran, Walter Learning, it’s fun, it’s relaxing, it’s funny and it’s a wonderful play to end this year’s summer season.

As was expected the very talented Linda Goranson and Jocelyn Zucco deliver. They are backed by a solid performance from Parris Greaves who plays Dolly’s son Stephen.

Goranson gives us Dolly Biddle, a character you like immediately. She’s short, a bit frumpy, the ‘vonderful, vonderful’, lovable grandmotherly type but with a fake Ukranian accent.

On the other hand, you don’t immediately take to Isobel, “Izzy” Lomax played by Zucco. In fact, she is quite un-likeable when she first hits the stage. She’s loud, professional to the point of being cold, and not about to let anyone forget that ‘I am Cordon Bleu’ trained.

She became a bit more endearing, however when she ended up as Mammy to Dolly’s Scarlett O’Hara in the deep south cooking segment of The Kitchen Witches show and by the end of the night we had actually come to like her.

The play is about Dolly and Isobel, who grew up in the same town, loved the same man and both ended up with television cooking shows, ‘Baking with Babcha’ and ‘Busy with Izzy’ both of which have coincidentally been cancelled. “It’s last show and Bobcha wants to go out with a bang,” says Dolly as she prepares her Ukranian Bosch.

When Izzy shows up on the Babcha set, old ‘personal’ problems bubble up. “Dolly Biddle you have publicly insulted me for the last time,” yells Izzy. The grease sizzles and the cooking show producers love all the digs and pokes as the two old friends air old grievances, live, on stage. As a result, a new show, The Kitchen Witches is born and becomes an immediate hit.

When Izzy reveals the family’s ‘secret’ recipe at the end of the first act, the stage is set for some real fun…and an eventual happy ending.

Adding to the play’s charm is the localization and the interaction with the audience. The Kitchen Witches show is sponsored by Morrisburg and area businesses and the two cooking divas receive fan mail from such far-away places as Chesterville and Ingleside. A Playhouse audience member is even called to centre stage.

Also called to the stage for this one is Upper Canada Playhouse’s Production Assistant, Stéphanie Souillé, who plays the camera person who captures all of the great cooking show moments.

The two cooks do offer some cooking advice and enter into a well-timed two minute cooking challenge. Dolly prepares “melt in your mouth bourbon balls” and Izzie makes a “stand em up Izzie Banana Parfait”. Keep an eye on the stand-up banana

The Kitchen Witches is a fun show, with an outstanding cast and an excellent ending for another successful season at the Playhouse.

If you don’t have your tickets yet call the Playhouse at 613-543-3713 or book online at uppercanadaplayhouse.com. This is one ‘yummy’ serving you don’t want to miss.

With the last of the summer long weekends only days away, the Ontario Provincial Police are giving advance notice that they will be honing in on distracted drivers as part of the heightened enforcement they have planned over the Labor Day weekend.

With kids heading back to school next week, distracted driving is of particular concern to the OPP as distraction-related collision fatalities in OPP jurisdiction continue to surpass impaired driving-related deaths this year. According to the OPP, everyone travelling on roads and highways should be equally concerned about this alarming trend.

“Most people would not get into a vehicle with an impaired driver and they are at as much risk in the presence of a distracted driver as an impaired driver,” says Chief Superintendent Don Bell, Commander of the OPP Highway Safety Division. “If drivers do not have the good sense to stop this dangerous behaviour on their own, I encourage passengers to take responsibility for their own safety by speaking up. If you are a passenger in a vehicle and the driver is not completely focused on driving, is talking on a cell phone or even worse – texting, remind them that they are endangering your life and that you want them to stop,” added Bell.

“So far this year, 47 of the 177 people killed in motor vehicle collisions in OPP jurisdiction involved distracted driving, compared to 32 impaired driving-related collision deaths,” said Deputy Commissioner Larry Beechey, Provincial Commander of Traffic Safety and Operational Support. “Our statistics make it clear beyond a doubt that road users need to pay greater attention to this problem and get on board with our efforts to stop it rather than wait for a devastating tragedy to occur,” added Beechey.

Speeding and other aggressive driving behaviour, impaired driving and seat belt compliance will also be on the OPP’s radar over the long weekend. Boaters and off-road vehicle (ORV) users should also be prepared to see a strong OPP presence on waterways and trails, with ORV fatalities up 80 per cent and marine fatalities up more than 15 per cent this year.

From a 15 year old with peach fuzz on his top lip that grew into a proper moustache by the time he was 18, now South Dundas Mayor Steven Byvelds has never been without a moustache.

That could all change at the end of this month if the residents of South Dundas take up the challenge being issued by Mayor Byvelds in support of the Flash a ‘Stache effort to help fight prostate cancer.

“I am issuing a challenge,” said Byvelds. “If $1,000 in donations are made, I will cut off my forever moustache.”

Saturday night at the Dundas County Hospice Hoedown Jan Clapp convinced Byvelds that he should participate in the Dare to Flash a ‘Stache fundraiser benefitting the Winchester District Memorial Hospital Foundation and the Ottawa Region Cancer Centre Foundation to fight prostate cancer.

“It definitely took some convincing,” said Byvelds, “This is a pretty big leap for me.”

Although, now that he has decided to participate, he sincerely hopes people will take up the challenge and donate to this very worthy cause.

“I think each one of us knows someone who has battled prostate cancer,” he says.

In addition to helping to raise funds, this effort helps to raise awareness so that people get checked and through fund raisers like this one ensure that the hospitals have everything they need to provide treatment.

There is only one week to reach Byvelds fund raising goal, so he asks that anyone interested in taking up the challenge by making a donation to the Dare to to Flash a ‘Stache effort do so before October 31.

Donations can be made online at www.flashastache.ca, click on Sponsor a Participant and type in Steven Byvelds and follow the steps. For those not comfortable with donating online, contact Byvelds and he will help facilitate the donation process. He can be reached by email mayor@southdundas.com or by phone 613-652-2271.